A few weeks ago in this blog post: The Truth About Lower Back Exercises, we mentioned thoracic spine mobility as an area that should be focused on in your battle against spondylolisthesis or spondylolysis.
I would be willing to bet that many of you have never tried to improve the mobility of your thoracic spine. If you haven’t, you may be missing out on a crucial component in your recovery process.
Understanding the thoracic spine in combination with adding a few spondylolisthesis exercises aimed at improving your thoracic mobility can yield great results.
What Is The Thoracic Spine?
The thoracic spine is the area located in your mid to upper back (think bottom of the ribs to the top of shoulders); it is located just below the cervical spine and just above the lumbar spine.
In short, the thoracic spine aids in movements performed by the body. The cervical spine (neck) and lumbar spine (low back) are used more to stabilize these movements.
Movements involving the thoracic spine include, but are not limited to…
1. Reaching your hands overhead (throwing, reaching towards a cabinet, raising your hand, etc.)
2. Rotational movements (twisting, swinging, reaching across your body, looking left or right, etc.)
Remember this, most movements that you perform on a daily basis involve the thoracic spine.
What’s The Problem ?
We run into problems when the thoracic spine becomes tight, injured, weak or lazy. When this occurs all of the movements that are supposed to be performed by the thoracic spine are handled by the cervical or lumbar spine.
The problem is the cervical and lumbar spine are not meant to handle these movements.
It doesn’t take long for the cervical and lumbar spine to break down thus producing pain in the shoulders, chest, neck, and guess what other area?
Of course, the low back.
I would be willing to bet that many of you have never tried to improve the mobility of your thoracic spine. If you haven’t, you may be missing out on a crucial component in your recovery process.
Understanding the thoracic spine in combination with adding a few spondylolisthesis exercises aimed at improving your thoracic mobility can yield great results.
What Is The Thoracic Spine?
The thoracic spine is the area located in your mid to upper back (think bottom of the ribs to the top of shoulders); it is located just below the cervical spine and just above the lumbar spine.
In short, the thoracic spine aids in movements performed by the body. The cervical spine (neck) and lumbar spine (low back) are used more to stabilize these movements.
Movements involving the thoracic spine include, but are not limited to…
1. Reaching your hands overhead (throwing, reaching towards a cabinet, raising your hand, etc.)
2. Rotational movements (twisting, swinging, reaching across your body, looking left or right, etc.)
Remember this, most movements that you perform on a daily basis involve the thoracic spine.
What’s The Problem ?
We run into problems when the thoracic spine becomes tight, injured, weak or lazy. When this occurs all of the movements that are supposed to be performed by the thoracic spine are handled by the cervical or lumbar spine.
The problem is the cervical and lumbar spine are not meant to handle these movements.
It doesn’t take long for the cervical and lumbar spine to break down thus producing pain in the shoulders, chest, neck, and guess what other area?
Of course, the low back.
Since we feel the pain in these areas we are quick to seek treatment for sore shoulders, a sore neck, or sore low back, but rarely do we correct the cause of the pain.…the thoracic spine.
**It is important to note that when we mention the term thoracic spine we are referring to the muscles, tendons, soft tissues and ligaments that collectively work together in this area and not just the vertebrae.**
Thoracic Spine & Spondy's
A tight and immobile thoracic spine is a common weakness for those who have spondy’s. Increasing the ability of the thoracic spine to function properly will help tremendously in your search of being pain free.
All of the movement that you perform during the day that requires proper movement of the thoracic spine can put
stress and strain on the low back if your thoracic spine does not stay mobile and function correctly.
This in combination with a fracture of your vertebrae, and already vulnerable areas, can lead to increased slippage of the vertebrae and further pain.
The good news is we can all do stretches and exercises to help strengthen and provide mobility to the thoracic spine.
The bad news is hardly any of us know about them or do them, and the one activity we do the most throughout the day (sitting) can be the most detrimental to our thoracic spine.
Keep in mind that not all people with spondy’s need thoracic spine work and therefore doing these exercises do not yeild much improvment. But a majority of people may benefit greatly from thoracic spine mobility.
The thoracic spine is a small piece of the overall picture that you may need to work on, but please try this and see if you feel any relief.
Try This
To perform this exercise all you need is a foam roller. If you have yet to purchase one you are missing out on a great piece of inexpensive equipment that could do wonders for your pain. To learn more about foam rollers click HERE.
This is also a great exercise for those who spend long hours in a desk or behind a computer.
**It is important to note that when we mention the term thoracic spine we are referring to the muscles, tendons, soft tissues and ligaments that collectively work together in this area and not just the vertebrae.**
Thoracic Spine & Spondy's
A tight and immobile thoracic spine is a common weakness for those who have spondy’s. Increasing the ability of the thoracic spine to function properly will help tremendously in your search of being pain free.
All of the movement that you perform during the day that requires proper movement of the thoracic spine can put
stress and strain on the low back if your thoracic spine does not stay mobile and function correctly.
This in combination with a fracture of your vertebrae, and already vulnerable areas, can lead to increased slippage of the vertebrae and further pain.
The good news is we can all do stretches and exercises to help strengthen and provide mobility to the thoracic spine.
The bad news is hardly any of us know about them or do them, and the one activity we do the most throughout the day (sitting) can be the most detrimental to our thoracic spine.
Keep in mind that not all people with spondy’s need thoracic spine work and therefore doing these exercises do not yeild much improvment. But a majority of people may benefit greatly from thoracic spine mobility.
The thoracic spine is a small piece of the overall picture that you may need to work on, but please try this and see if you feel any relief.
Try This
To perform this exercise all you need is a foam roller. If you have yet to purchase one you are missing out on a great piece of inexpensive equipment that could do wonders for your pain. To learn more about foam rollers click HERE.
This is also a great exercise for those who spend long hours in a desk or behind a computer.
1. For those that have a foam roller place the foam roller on the ground and lay with your upper back on the foam roller and your hands behind your head.
Your elbows should be pointing up. The foam roller should be just below your shoulder blades.
Your elbows should be pointing up. The foam roller should be just below your shoulder blades.
2. Very easily, try to get the sensation of opening up your chest as you reach your elbows and upper back together towards the ground. Again, focus on the movement coming from the upper part of your back.
As you extend towards the ground slowly exhale while focusing on relaxing and only moving your thoracic spine.
Then return to the starting position.
Notice how the head remains in line with the chest. Do not just reach the head back. Open the chest and reach back with the elbows together.
As you extend towards the ground slowly exhale while focusing on relaxing and only moving your thoracic spine.
Then return to the starting position.
Notice how the head remains in line with the chest. Do not just reach the head back. Open the chest and reach back with the elbows together.
3. Next, from the start position, slide the foam roll ever so slightly upwards towards your head. You should feel as if you just moved up one vertebra. Then perform the same stretch.
4. Finnaly, from the start position, barely slide the foam roll up one more time and perform again. The foam roll should start at the bottom of the shoulder blades and end up parallel shoulders, but it should never get to the neck or above the shoulders.
Since most people get this movement from the low back, MAKE SURE TO KEEP YOUR KNEES BENT AND TO FOCUS ON ONLY USING THE MIDDLE OF YOUR BACK, DO NOT ARCH YOUR LOW BACK OR REACH YOUR HEAD BACK to produce the movement.
You want to leave the neck out of this stretch.
If this exercise feels good and provides relief, perform a few sets of 5 repetions per day at each position. Make sure to hold each stretch for 5-10 seconds.
4. Finnaly, from the start position, barely slide the foam roll up one more time and perform again. The foam roll should start at the bottom of the shoulder blades and end up parallel shoulders, but it should never get to the neck or above the shoulders.
Since most people get this movement from the low back, MAKE SURE TO KEEP YOUR KNEES BENT AND TO FOCUS ON ONLY USING THE MIDDLE OF YOUR BACK, DO NOT ARCH YOUR LOW BACK OR REACH YOUR HEAD BACK to produce the movement.
You want to leave the neck out of this stretch.
If this exercise feels good and provides relief, perform a few sets of 5 repetions per day at each position. Make sure to hold each stretch for 5-10 seconds.
If performed correctly you should feel a stretch in the thoracic spine area. If for some reason you get neck or low back pain, simply stop this exercise. It is possible that you have too much inflammation and irritation to perform this movement at this time. In the coming weeks we will discuss inflammation and how to attatck it.
You can find more thoracic spine exercises and mobility techniques in our full SpondySolution manual plus hundreds of other pictures and stretches to help you get on the right track to moving and feeling better!
We hope this simple exercise helps you in your battle against spondylolisthesis and spondylolysis. Remember to like us on facebook at www.facebook.com/SpondySolution to keep up to date with all the latest information.
You can find more thoracic spine exercises and mobility techniques in our full SpondySolution manual plus hundreds of other pictures and stretches to help you get on the right track to moving and feeling better!
We hope this simple exercise helps you in your battle against spondylolisthesis and spondylolysis. Remember to like us on facebook at www.facebook.com/SpondySolution to keep up to date with all the latest information.
